Today’s Workout: Hop squat with step-down is a versatile move

Friday

You can incorporate fitness and a healthy lifestyle in many places and parts of your day. Creativity is key. You can combine cardio building moves with muscle training.

Our move today is a Hop Squat with a Step Down. This move will be working your lower body, glutes, hamstrings, quads and calves. It also gets your heart pumping by adding the hop. You will need a small step or ledge for this exercise.Begin this move by standing just behind a slight elevation change. It can be as small as a few inches or higher, depending on your ability.

Start with your feet just outside the hips, chest tall, core engaged, and proceed to hop onto the top of your step. Once you land on top, sink slightly into your squat, then continue by stepping back down one leg at a time to your starting position.

Immediately repeat this hop and alternate your leading step down leg to keep things even.

Continue this hop squat combination for at least 10 times or go to exhaustion, whichever comes first. Take a short breather, then continue on for three to five sets.

This move can be done at home on your front porch, at the gym on a step or even on the sidewalk at work.You can perform this exercise alone, as it hits almost everything, or add it into your warmup for your lower body routine.

Any way you choose, you can’t go wrong.

— Marlo Alleva, an instructor at Gold’s Gym and group fitness coordinator at Fontaine-Gills YMCA in Lakeland, Florida, can be reached at faluvzpa@msn.com.

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